Intellectual Bravery

Forbes posted an article entitled To Foster Innovation, Cultivate a Culture of Intellectual Bravery. I'm very interested in organizational culture because it really does make or break an organization. I recall my graduate school admission essay I wrote about my desire to create socially justice organizations. In my mind, this goes beyond the work product of the organization by focusing on employee wellness. I believe there are a lot of organizations out there who work towards justice, but their internal work doesn't always reflect that value of justice. I digress...

The author describes 7 ways to create intellectual bravery. The first of these steps, "take your finger off your fear button" (Clark, 2020). This is not about an individual's fear, but the fear a leader creates within a team or organization. Leaders must be aware of ways they can create fear and actively work against that. Fear can thwart progress and can cause team members to be silent and self-censor. In my mind, the opposite of creating fear is modeling vulnerability, which is the final step. 

No one wants to be vulnerable. It exposes us to the possibility of harm or loss. It requires self-awareness and the ability to expose our imperfections. Part of advanced social work practice requires the social worker to engage in reflective practice. This practice of reflection positions us to allow ourselves to be vulnerable. 

Intellectual bravery is needed organizations. Social workers are well trained to see the entire eco-system and understand how decisions can impact the eco-system. We live in a society with very complex problems and the solutions to those problems are layered and complex. The issues facing our communities require innovation. We need intellectual bravery so we can "think outside the box"; so we can address systems of injustice. 

As part of my leadership coaching, I have been encouraged to speak out more and share more. I am an internal processor by nature, but part of it is because I don't want to sound dumb. It's partly fear on my part with my own false narrative that people want to see me fail. I have been challenging myself to talk more in meetings, share my ideas (even if they are incomplete), and be vulnerable to say I don't have all the answers. I want to collaborate and to improve my thoughts by hearing from people who think differently than me. I am in spaces where it is not always safe to practice intellectual bravery, or at least I don't perceive them to be, however being brave requires that I challenge myself to practice that vulnerability even when it's not safe. 

I hope leaders can start cultivating a culture that embraces intellectual bravery, but even in our own spaces we change chose to practice bravery. 

Ready for Change?

At a private practice meet-up recently we were discussing the difference between people going to community mental health and those seeking treatment in a private practice. The first point someone brought up was a difference in payment. This person felt that in community mental health most clients aren’t paying for a service so they may not be as invested while in private practice there can be things like co-pays and deductibles. I think this is a valid point considering so many people going to CMHCs are on Medicaid and do not have to pay for services. To be clear, I don’t think paying for a service automatically makes a person more invested, but I do think for some it does.

When going to a CMHC, a lot of people have a lot of psychosocial issues or issues around the social determinants of health. Housing, employment, transportation, childcare, the list can go on and on about the challenges people face daily. These issues can present obstacles for people to engage in treatment.

We are familiar with the stages of change model. Here is a quick reference and a visual if you are unfamiliar.

It appears to me that we tend to believe that clients who come into a community mental health center are at that action stage of change. Why would someone make an appointment and then show up to an appointment if they are not ready for change? It seems logical, but that may only be from our frame of reference. A client coming into an agency may still be in the preparation stage. The task in the preparation stage (I’ve seen places call it determination) is to find appropriate strategies to help make the change. Looking at a website on an agency or research information on treatment is definitely part of that preparation stage, but I would argue that making an appointment and keeping that appointment is also part of the stage.

When I worked in psychiatric crisis, I would educate patients and families on the art and science of therapy. While it is based on science, we naturally do not “click” with everyone. If a therapist is assigned that doesn’t mean they are the best fit. It’s ok to change the agency and the treatment provider. From my perspective, an individual finding treatment provider they can work with is all part of the preparation stage.

If a client comes to you seeking services it may be that they are ready, but they may not be ready. This really speaks to the need to develop motivational interviewing skills for all staff. Reception and intake staff can start to recognize change talk and help enhance motivation. We need to do better at meeting clients where they are. That includes fully recognizing where they are in the stages of change.